In 1963, lieutenant James N. Rowe was captured by the Vietcong. There, he ended up spending five years in prison before escaping and regaining his freedom. While being held prisoner, Rowe had to struggle against illness, brutal treatment, malnutrition, and isolation. He has to watch as his friends die one by one, and as his country turns against his cause and seemingly forgets him. All the while, he must resist attempts by the guards to convert him to their cause or to use him for propaganda purposes.
Being in constant contact with the Vietcong, Rowe is able to understand how they think and what they fight for. He also is able to see fully how the war and the behavior of the Vietcong effected the civilians.
In the end, he gets transferred to a camp where he will surly be executed. Fortunately however, he has a chance to escape while being transported. He is able to get away from his guards and flag down a US helicopter. They land, and rescue him.
Five Years To Freedom contains examples of:
- Colonel Badass: Rowe was a lieutenant when he was captured, but upon returning to the US army base he found out he was promoted to Colonel while he was missing. For the "badass" part, see Determinator below.
- Determinator: James N. Rowe. Being this is how he survived as a POW for half a decade.
- Denied Foodas Punishment: Rowe and the other marines in the Vietcong POW camp were at times fed little more than rice with rock salt. Rowe mentions a few of his friends dying of illnesses which they could have recovered from if they had been fed real food.
- Great Escape: Rowe is finally able to escape the clutches of his captors during a transfer. He gets picked up by a US helicopter and returned to the base.
- Karmic Death: A good chunk of the prison guards who abused Rowe and his fellow Marines were killed in either the Tet Offensive or in other combat.
- Karma Houdini: Many others, however, seemingly got off scot free.
- Only Knownby Their Nickname: Rowe states that he and the other prisoners secretly gave the guards nicknames to remember them by, many of which were mocking.
- Happily Ever Before: The book ends with Rowe being reunited with his parents. Only the About The Author section on the last page mentions how he died in the Philippines years later.
- Hellhole Prison: Rowe describes the POW camps that the Vietcong put him in as being this.
- Teens Are Monsters: Most of the Vietcong guards are in their teens, with some being as young as thirteen. Despite this they are more than willing to abuse and neglect their prisoners.
- POW Camp: Rowe spends the setting in three of these.
